When the evening had drawn to a close and most of the dinner dishes had been cleared away, I stooped to pick up a few slender collections of music and sighed, moving my neck from side to side on my sore shoulders to stretch them.
Everything had gone well, I thought. The delegation of Northmen had indulged heavily in food and drink, unable to match the stamina my kin so thoughtlessly displayed. The music, which I'd carefully planned and practiced, had been received appreciatively.
I was making my way through the mostly empty Great Hall to the carved double doors on the other side when I heard a gentle call.
I turned, surprised. My floor-skimming gown moved with me, and I felt the tightness through my stomach and hips strain just a little. Wearily, I thought how nice it would be to shed it.
It was the King who'd summoned me.
He stood casually on the north dais, looking as tired as I felt. There were some mortal men who'd supped with him—departing now, and a smattering of councillors who meant to stay behind.
"Bard," he called again, rather impersonally for my taste.
I curtsied, keeping my eyes on him. "Highness?"
The points of his savage crown housed bits of leaves and fall flowers, artfully arranged. "We are going to take tea with some of the ambassadors," he said. "Won't you join us?"
I paused. I didn't want to, not especially. What a strange request from Thranduil Elvenking! I considered. Tea with the human ambassadors? After midnight? I wished Legolas had remained behind to put us all at ease, but he'd retired with the rest of the guests.
Deciding that I didn't want to find out what would happen if I declined, I gave my King a nod and said, "I thank you for the kind invitation. That would be lovely."
He stretched his lips into what might have been a smile as I moved toward the dais to join the small contingent of elves and the ambassadors from Lake-town. When I reached them, Thranduil offered me his hand and helped me up onto the platform.
I thought to myself as I stood that I'd always wanted to see the Great Hall from this vantage point, but had long given it up as an impossibility. Yet here I was, on the north dais—with the King.
And I discovered then that the hall didn't appear quite as different as I'd expected it might.
The table for the dignitaries had been cleared and cleaned, and now servants moved to lay new settings down; delicate little sauces, tiny silver spoons, and napkins of the finest linen.
Connak, the foreign affairs advisor, took his place to the left of the King, resting his hands gently on the chair back, and waited for the rest of us to choose our places.
When Reyren moved to take the position on his right, Thranduil flicked a long-fingered hand lazily at them both and said, "No, no. I want the bard to sit there. She is still undergoing her education, and this will be good for her to observe, I think."
I looked nervously at the others, but no one objected to the request. They simply made room for me.
The King fixed his gaze on the chair to his right as if waiting for it to come to life and walk away. I decided he was waiting for me to sit in it, and so I did. He seemed satisfied.
Across from us were three dignitaries from Lake-town. One portly little man seemed very impressed with the pomp and elegance of it all.
"Is this what I think it is?" he asked breathlessly of no one in particular. "The autumnal tea ceremony of the Mirkwood elves?"
Thranduil stared at him, rather rudely, I thought, and replied, "It is autumn, man. And we are in Mirkwood. What else did you suppose it might be?"
The man coloured and stammered, "Apologies, Highness. I don't mean to be obtuse. Only my kin and I have heard stories of this ceremony, and hardly any of the Northmen have seen it. I thank you," and here glanced up at Ayduin, who was busy preparing the table, "for your hospitality."
Thranduil nodded absently.
Secretly, I echoed the man's sentiments; I wanted dearly to see what happened next. While I'd taken tea, it had never been in the audience chamber, never with the royal glassware, and certainly never in the company of the King himself. I smiled as though I were comfortable and held my hands tightly in my lap so no one could see them shaking.
As the small group of four elves and three men chatted quietly, Ayduin moved silently about the table, preparing the tea.
It was then that I realized we were all paired off. There were eight of us all told, and four carafes for the tea to steep in, one for each couple. That was new and different to me. A tea… partner? I thought. That must be what distinguishes courtier service from the more elevated, royal iteration.
The carafes were tall and crafted of translucent glass, fitted to the blower's hands when made. Each had been etched with tiny vines and leaves around the lips of the vessels. The cups matched; short, delicate things with no handles. Each place setting had two elegant stone jars, ostensibly to hold the tea leaves, a mithril strainer, an empty stone bowl, and a carved stirring stick.
I jumped—Ayduin was beside me. "Green or white, my dear?" he asked me softly.
Tea, he means, I thought. Calming myself, I answered him. "White, please."
And he opened one of the stoneware jars, placing the lid down on the table beside us.
The company had grown quiet and was watching him as he worked.
A small silver spoon was housed within the stone jar. Ayduin's graceful fingers pulled it out and then used it to collect a generous scoop of white tea leaves. The sweet, floral fragrance of them bloomed around us, and I inhaled deeply, savoring it.
Ayduin shook the spoon gently, leveling off the dried leaves. Then he deposited the delicate stuff in the glass carafe closest to me, allowing it to trail down the glass surface so as not to bruise it.
He did this again, collecting another scoop. The silver spoon clinked softly on the stone, and again on the glass. I watched him, entranced, and an unconscious shiver ran up my spine.
The movement must have caught the King's eye, for I saw him turn slightly to glance at me. I pretended nothing had happened.
The ellon moved on, doing the same for each couple at the table—two scoops of tea, delicately placed. The air became sweet with the heady scent of it. Ayduin quietly asked the guest on the right in each pair whether they preferred to drink white or green tea.
I understood then. By placing me beside him and on his right, my King had generously granted me the honor of choosing what we would drink for the evening. I coloured, hoping he didn't have an aversion to white tea.
I stole a glance at Thranduil King. He looked tired and bored. The fearsome crown upon his head insisted sharply in the soft glow of the evening candlelight. The sleeves of his crushed velvet robe pooled about the armrests on his carved chair. His silken hair hung smoothly down his back, and some unseen breeze stirred the strands of it slightly. He must have known I was staring, for he turned his gaze on me and I looked quickly away.
Stop it, I admonished myself. Decorum. Don't disappoint Hamalitia. She taught you how to take tea. Shown them!
But I was so tired. I'd exhausted myself performing, and it was late. I hoped no one was expecting sparkling conversation from me. They'd be sorely disappointed.
Ayduin had finished with the tea leaves and would now begin dispensing the hot water. He disappeared briefly into one of the side rooms off of the audience chamber and then returned with a slender iron kettle, which he held gingerly by the handle with assistance from a cloth napkin.
He began at our place setting, pouring a bit of steaming water into the King's glass cup. Not a single drop splashed on either one of us. He filled mine next, then moved on.
Soft tendrils of warmth curled lazily up from each of our glasses. I felt the heat on my face and leaned forward gratefully.
In a moment, all eight of us had sufficiently warmed cups.
Thranduil nodded to Ayduin, and then the ellon began moving around the table again, this time filling the large carafes about halfway with the steaming water. Again, he began with us. The tea colored the water a faint yellow, and some of the blossoms unfurled prettily within the translucent glass. Those who had chosen green tea exclaimed over the vibrant color.
When everyone had been served, there was a slight shift in attention, and after a moment I understood we were all waiting for something. I darted a glance at the King, who gave me an almost imperceptible nod, then looked back and forth from me to his own cup.
Ah. That's why he wanted me to sit here, I thought bitterly. The bastard.
I was on his right. Which meant that I would begin the next part of the ceremony. While everyone else watched me.